Latest news: Tourism academy launched

Bournemouth is to host Europe's first National Coastal Tourism Academy, a ground-breaking new knowledge transfer institution which will set a gold standard in customer care for the tourism and hospitality industry. 20/08/2012

It will be designed and delivered by the school of tourism at Bournemouth University in collaboration with Bournemouth Borough Council and local tourism businesses.

The Academy will give businesses access to educational and professional training to help boost their growth and also help develop the wider tourism industry.

With financial support from the Coastal Communities Fund, administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government , the launch of the Academy sends out a clear indication of the importance the government attaches to the tourism industry.

The new Academy will provide 23 new jobs and 107 volunteer positions initially, with the aim of boosting Bournemouth's visitor economy by 2.3% (£9.5million) within three years and creating 145 sustainable jobs. Tourism to Bournemouth is currently worth £413.3m per year and employs 6,200 people.

The key purpose of the project is to create jobs in the tourism sector through growth in the local economy.

Initially 165 new jobs will be created in Bournemouth over a three year period. Once this has been established, the programme will be rolled out nationally and offered to other coastal tourism resorts, with the potential for a further 2,100 new jobs to be created in coastal communities within the next five years.

Dr Keith Wilkes, dean of the school of tourism, said, 'Not only is this initiative likely to be of considerable benefit to local and national coastal destinations, but with its commitment to high quality training and personal development, alongside platforms of research that are at present woefully inadequate for the needs of coastal tourism, it is eventually also likely to be of considerable appeal to international destinations.'